Chuck Most

Very interested in this... and love how low the mockup car sits.

Something I just finished- a quick sketch of a severely cut-down '55 Chrysler with a Dodge Stealth roof. The wheels are based on the wheel covers shown on the box art illustration (but not the wheel covers provided in the kit). I started out wanting to draw a cartoon car, and I suppose this one is a bit cartoony. Might even try something similar as a slammer, I guess we'll see.

I'll be watching this one. Show that Olds-powered Corvette who's boss!

Really nicely detailed kit, especially when you consider its from the early '60's. The suspension can be a bit fiddly because of the delicate parts, but it's nothing that can't be overcome. Really the only way to improve it would be to add some different headlights with clear lenses. It does seem pricey at $33, though- the 'Goodguys' issue is the same as this other than the decals and I see those all the time for less than $20. No idea about Model Roundup, but I'm sure somebody else can chime in with that info.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has (stashed or built) the R&C Trucking transkit for the Ertl Paystar 5000. It was produced during the mid to late '90's, and consisted of the newer-style 'aero' nose, a different cab, and some interior parts, among other things. What I'm wondering is twofold- first of all, how good was the casting quality? And second, I haven't seen any R&C products listed for sale in a long time, so I am assuming the original caster is out of business, but was it ever cast by anyone else?

Here it is... remember, I built this about seven years ago, my standards are a lot higher now!

I know! If I were doing a project like Casey's, I'd have just ham-fisted a Deora six into an otherwise box stock Revell Dart and called it a day.

I've had the same thing happen on a few occasions- sometimes just shaking the flocking in a strainer won't break up the clumps. When that happens, I'll press a clump into the strainer with my thumb or fingertip and kind of 'grind' it back and forth over the strainer's surface. Sometimes just touching it with your thumb will break it up enough, but even the more stubborn clumps are no match for the grinding method.

That they are. If I'm not mistaken, they were also used as the street machine rear tires in some of the 2 in 1 Monogram muscle car kits. Not the greatest tire for either application (light truck or muscle car), really.

It's just a Camaro anyway... you can buy reproduction Camaros nowadays, can't you?

The Testors/Lindberg Charger engines are about the same as the AMT '05 Chrysler engines detail and appearance-wise, if I recall.

Outer wheel diameter is just under 17mm. The wheels are kind of a sloppy fit into the tires, but I've found filing down the wheelbacks (thus narrowing the wheel assembly) helps the outer wheel fit better into the tire.

And of course there's Dean's Hobby Stop, if you feel like taking a litle side trip (about 60 miles from Ann Arbor, if I recall). Always well stocked with lots of cool OOP kits.

Looks like the kind of old farm trucks you still see around Michigan. Very cool.

The '40 Sedan Delivery should work too- those seem to be a bit easier to find (and a lil' bit cheaper) than the AMT coupe. They have essentially the same chassis- in fact they might actually be the same chassis. They're pretty close anyway. The '39/40 Tudor should work too, though I think the chassis is a bit different in that kit (still has molded exhaust if I remember, though).

I think I still have the model- I'll see about snapping a photo.

Liking what I'm seeing! Mike- you could actually get special manifolds for putting a Roots-style supercharger on a six, but how cool would a front-mounted piece be? I used a Paxton centrifugal blower on a Stovebolt I used in an Olds roadster I built years ago. I might start on an off-the shelf project, as I haven't been able to get the Flathead six for the coupe yet. Need something to keep me going in the interim.

Yeah, that'd definitely work.

I was thinking about it, but I just like the way the truck looks totally stock too much.

Nice! Didn't know Sun Star made one of these- I'll have to get one now.

This talk of matte finishes against gloss (paint vs. vinyl) raises another accuracy issue I keep seeing with NASCAR stock car models. I've seen more than enough Cup cars in my time, and none of them have what you'd call a mirror-gloss finish. Shiny? Yes, but not like what I see in some stock car models. Cleared decals or not, there's just something weird about a stock car model with a high-gloss finish. Again, the painted areas on a 1:1 stock car are somewhat glossy, but I'm talking about eleven coats of hand-buffed lacquer that would look more at home on a Ridler contender than a roundy-rounder. No real stock car is that glossy, but you see models of same done that way all the time.

Very nice!

Always love seeing this one, and believe me you I'll be ripping off more than a few ideas from it for a few projects of my own.

Before you ask... no, this car never existed in 1:1. There were some 'neo classic' Packards done by the Packard Bailiff coachworks, but none of them looked like this. This kit was designed by none other than Virgil Exner of Chrysler fame, and was done as a what-if proposal by Esquire magazine in the early 1960's, where Exner was commissioned to do renderings of several defunct makes and see how the vehicles might look if they were still being produced at that time. Renwal models picked up four of the concepts to produce as 1:25 scale models, the Packard being one of them. I managed to pick up a slightly damaged but complete example at a local antique shop of all places. A mere $35 later and I had a very rarely seen kit to build! My idea is basically to see how this car may have been customized had it been an actual production car. I started this about two years ago, and have recently been working on it some more. The kit tires are about eight feet tall, and the narrow whitewall bands were poorly printed, so I replaced them with a set of two-piece Revell wide whites. The kit comes with a somewhat crude example of a Packard Twin Six (V 12), but I wanted something that Packard could have used assuming they'd been in business in 1966. Being a small company, I figured they'd outsource their engines, but would still want something exotic. To that end, this one will be powered by a dual-quad Ford 427 Ford Cammer, cobbled up from spares I had on hand. The trim and driprail detail was rather weak, so I usd triangular styrene rod and brass wire to enhance these pieces. And that's all for now- I'm hoping this one willl turn out halfway decent.

Either that guy is really short, or he has no legs. All the same, I'd still cruise that thing.